Growing Close and Tall Tales
by OokamiHybrid
Summary: The adventures of Growing Pains continues as the Pack struggles to juggle new duties, new members, and new information. Sometimes, it takes a special sort of someone to bring everything into perspective.
1. Chapter 1

"You know, I used to be afraid of the water." Leah mused, wiggling her toes as the waves lapped up around her ankles. She was standing at the water's edge, clad in a pair of shorts that most people would consider rags, and a sports bra.

Max made a noise in the back of her throat, nodding. She stood further away from the water, behind and to the right of Leah. The color had faded from her hair, finally washed out, and she hadn't been able to bring herself to dye it. Not since…She sighed through her nose. "You were?" She asked finally, dragging her mind back to the present.

"Mhm." The eldest shewolf nodded, tilting her face against the night time air. She was breathtaking, bathed in the muted moonlight that managed to slip from the clouds, stroking the angles of her body softly.

"What happened? To make you not afraid, I mean." Max shifted lightly on her feet, watching as Leah's head twitched to the side. The shewolf had been practicing on her hearing as of late and Max smiled, proud.

"I almost drowned. It was before all of this." Leah waved a hand, wrist flicking so her long fingers wiggled in the air. It was a normal gesture, and Max had learnt it was one that _all_ the wolves unconsciously used. Because a flailing hand apparently mean supernatural mumbo jumbo. "Sam pulled me out - I was out here with him, Jared, Paul and Emily, being cocky as usual." Max couldn't hear a smile, but she could hear a self-deprecating smirk. "I went out too far and got dragged under. I was terrified."

"How the hell did nearly drowning make you _lose_ your fear of water?"

"I realized that…_yeah_. Bad things can touch me. They can happen to me. I had fun that day at the beach, and if I had have let myself be afraid, I never would have gone swimming. Sam never would have asked me out, and I'd be stuck on the sidelines of all the water activities forever. If I let myself be afraid, if I never took a chance, I'd miss out on so much." Leah laughed, although the sound was a little wet.

Max realized, with a start, that the shewolf was near tears if not already crying. She moved forward silently, not touching, but hovering close enough to Leah that the other woman could feel her. Close. "Yeah?"

"Yeah…and then a few years later Sam left me, my father died, and I ended up being what I thought was a freak of nature." Leah turned to Max then, _actually_ grinning. "I didn't want to miss out, so I forced myself to take a chance. Now my life is. Well, this." Another gesture, hands pointing at her own body.

"You're stronger for what happened Leah." Max kept her voice quiet, glancing up at Leah. "Don't regret that."

"I don't. I just wonder what life would be like if I hadn't ever stepped into the water that day."

Max smiled then, nodding her head. "If you hadn't stepped into the water, you'd still be afraid."

"Right – and if you hadn't let yourself trust Wil, where would you be?"

_Ah, sneaky shewolf_ Max thought fondly. "To be honest? I'd have stuck around for a while, helped you guys as much as I could have, but I wouldn't have stayed. I'd still be in your heads, just…not here physically. I would definitely be gone."

"And the twins or another wolf might be dead for it." Leah pointed out, thinking back a few months. The Wendigo.

"Everything happens for a reason." Max agreed. "I'm just a little sad. He's the first man I've…stayed with." She explained. The months since Collin's death had drawn the women closer together. Max had felt the loss of Collin just as strongly as the wolves, had been just as angry at _everything_ as Leah was. They shared similar thoughts on a handful of things the Alpha and Council were forcing the Pack to do. It was easier to stand together, alone, than it was to stand shoulder to shoulder with their brothers and younger sisters.

After the funeral, Max had quietly broken the order Jacob had given to Sam. What surprised them the most, is that he had stayed.

"He's a good man, he's just angry. He'll come around. I hear Jake wants to stick Emb on patrol with him." She added. "I don't know how well that'll go over."

"Jacob's starting that tonight. They're probably in the woods together now." Max looked over her shoulder, scanned the tree line with sharp eyes. "I think it's a good idea. Embry's a quiet wolf and Wil doesn't have anything to be angry over."

"I didn't say it was a bad idea. I just don't know how they'll take it. Wil and his wolf just _scream_ protective daddy instincts, and Emb's never had that."

"Might be good for him then. I know he can talk to the other guys about manly things, but sometimes it's nice to have an older person to talk to."

"Yeah, and it's not like he's about to run to Billy for help." Leah muttered darkly.

"I wouldn't go to the Council for help if they were the last people on earth."

"Max?"

"Yeah, Leah?"

"How'd you know that that thing was a Wendigo?"

"I told you. I used to travel a lot, hunting things. Vampire's aren't the only enemies out there Leah. Are they the reason you wolves came to be? Maybe…but theres too many things out there to protect your land from. Too many to count."

"Tell me about them." Leah was staring at Max with hard eyes, eyes full of determination and fire. "I want – no. We all need to know."

They'd been too angry to think, too sad to learn in the past few months. Max wetted her lips, met Leah's gaze with her own. "Let me show you then."

Her hands lifted, fingers brushing Leah's temples. It would be just as easy to show her without touch, but the touch would keep the shewolf calm. Max closed her eyes, and she opened her mind.

Leah stood, silent and shocked.

ZZZ

"What the _hell_ is that?" Joseph gasped, tossing a hand over his heart as he stared at the table.

"What's what, Joey?" Kim asked from the kitchen. She had Isaac beside her, the quiet wolfpup diligently drying the dishes she handed to him. She gave him a gentle smile, watched the way his ears flushed as he turned his eyes to stare firmly at the bowl in his hands

Joseph didn't answer. Instead, he glared hate at the red crayon that was sitting obnoxiously on Jared and Kim's dining room table. "Oh _hell_ no." He growled. "Davey, _kill_!"

Jared raised both eyebrows, leaning his elbows onto the table. He had no idea what his pups were talking about, but he wasn't about to question them. It was the first time he'd had them at _his_ house – things were…odd at Emily and Sam's, and Wil was on patrol – and he wasn't about to ruin it. He could _do_ this. He could handle a group of kids.

Sarah nibbled her lips as she glanced at David.

David grabbed the red crayon, eyes narrowed at it. He growled a little, lips curving back from his teeth and then…then he was shoving the entire thing into his mouth, chewing it until it was a lump of red wax and soggy paper. He pulled it out of his mouth, dropped it into a napkin. Rolled it into a ball, hurled it at the garbage.

A collective cheer rose from the pups as he scored in one shot.

"Woo!" James gave David a high five, grinning like a fool. "Good shot, dude." _Dude_. These pups spent too much time listening to Seth talk.

"What the hell?" Jared echoed, staring wide eyed at the gaggle of kids in his dining room.

"We don't like red." Marie chirped airily, tugging her hair into a ponytail. "Right guys?"

The other pups murmured their agreement as they began collecting materials to doodle.

Even _Edmund_ was getting ready to draw.

Jared shook his head, looking at the kitchen doorway where Isaac and Kim were watching. "Why don't you go draw with them?" She urged.

"It's alright. I don't mind watching." The pup murmured, shuffling a bit further into the room yet not approaching the table.

"Yeah, come draw with us 'Zac." David slurred, scraping a stray piece of red crayon from his teeth. "You can have…what d'you want? Blue or orange?"

"Blue." Isaac decided, finally slinking close enough that he was within reach. Jared took the opportunity to ruffle the boy's hair, even as he handed over the blue crayon that had been passed to him.

The only two that really seemed invested in the craft, were the girls. Glancing around at the pups, Jared's heart clenched when he realized _all_ of the boys were humouring their youngest shewolves. Entertaining them. Making them _happy_. It was a strange emotion squeezing his throat, but it didn't necessarily feel like a bad one. It was…it was different, that was all.

Whatever either girl wanted, they got. Things were handed over with no question, no hesitation. Room was made to accommodate pointy girlie elbows, kicking feet clad in girl's shoes. Jared was more than a little confused. He looked once more to Kim, saw her watching the group with the same sort of fascination he was sure his own expression was full of.

She shrugged. He smiled, shrugged back, handed Sarah the brown.

"You kids excited for summer vacation?" Kim asked finally, breaking the strange silence that had fallen upon the cluster of wolves in her dining room.

"Yep. Wil's going to take us to the beach." Marie told her.

"He promised." Sarah added, nose crinkled as she began coloring in part of her tree.

"I just wish Paul'd come too." Marie huffed, sending a stray lock of hair out of her face as she flicked a crayon at Edmund's forehead. "But Wil doesn't want him 'round. Leah might come though." She had perked herself up with that thought, grinning widely.

"Wil doesn't want Paul around still, huh?" Kim mused, shaking her head lightly as she finished with the dishes.

"I think he's only really _peeved_," Joseph drawled, tossing Jared a smile – Jared had actually scolded him for saying _pissed_ earlier, and apparently, the pup had kept that in mind – as he narrowed dark brown eyes, "At Jake and Max."

"Yeah? Then why no other wolves, aside from Leah?" Jared raised both his eyebrows, hoping the conversation wouldn't bother the children too much. He was actually enjoying having them around.

"Not no other wolves – we're over here aren't we?" David's nostrils flared in annoyance as Marie's foot caught him in the shin. "Only really Sam and Paul. Can't say I blame the ol' man anyway."

"Paul and Sam were the ones that jumped him." Marie explained finally, dropping her pink crayon onto the table. "I don't feel like drawing anymore." The girl zeroed in on Kim, watching the imprint carefully for a moment.

Marie remembered a time, months ago, when she had _hated_ to be around Kim – because the woman _always_ talked about Jared. She was only nine years old – she had just recently turned nine, and _score_, only seven more years 'til driving school – but she knew she was a _smart_ nine year old. After watching Kim with Jared, rather than without him, she had realized Kimmy didn't _mean_ to be boring. It was just that, Jared was the only thing she really knew anymore.

Marie had told Sarah all about it, and the girls had decided together that it was sort of...sad. "Kim? Want us to ask Wil if you can come to the beach too?" She asked calmly, staring at the older woman with eyes much too serious for a child.

Kim's insides twisted lightly with nerves, and she bit her lip. "Oh – if you want." She wasn't about to let the child know that such an offer had really meant a lot to her.

"Leave it to us." Joseph mumbled, speaking for both himself and his brother. "We'll run it by him t'night when he's done with Embry."

Jared winced. "That's tonight?"

"Mmhm." Joseph pulled away from the table, trotted into the kitchen. Brushed by Kim to turn the tap on, fill his glass with cold water.

Not knowing why, Jared moved from his spot at the table, to the big window at the front of the house. He fell quiet as he watched the woods, the endless chatter of the children a soothing backdrop to the concern he felt.

Kim glanced around the table before slowly taking Jared's place. Not a single one of the pups to much as batted an eye.

ZZZ

Embry _was_ a quiet wolf, Wil noted. So far, they'd been running with each other for forty minutes, and all he'd heard was absent thoughts about homework, and one loud moment when Emb had been startled by a squirrel.

He still wasn't entirely used to the whole 'wolves in your head' thing, and he appreciated being able to get used to it with only Embry to worry about.

_Oh_. That hadn't been a stray thought – Embry's head was turned to the right, and thoughts of his mother were swirling in his head. Wil couldn't make sense of it all, only that she'd have been home from work for about an hour by then.

_Hey kid, calm down._ Wil had the sort of voice that people just _listened_ to. Deep, and calm, only under special occasions was it filled with anger or disgust. Wilbur Black didn't need an Alpha order, to be high on the pecking chain to get heads to turn his way.

Embry lowered his ears, grey shoulders slouching. _Sorry_.

Wil shook his body, slapping at Embry's snout with a red and white paw. _Don't be sorry. Nothin' wrong with worrying about your mom._ No, in fact, as far as Wil was concerned, it was a good trait. He took a second to nip at Embry's tail, before startling his body into a brisk run.

Embry was close on his heels as they broke their patrol schedule, swinging by the pup's house to make sure his mother was okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Paul couldn't stand the stench of shame rolling off of her. He knew it hadn't been easy for her to ask it of him – when it seemed like such a small thing, in his eyes – and he had heard her shuffling on his porch for five minutes before she knocked. He had opened the door, impatient as he waited for their Vargamor to blurt out whatever it is she wanted to say.

When she had asked him if she could stay at his place, if only for a while, he had been confused. Mainly because, as a member of the Pack, she really didn't have to ask. Sam was his friend, yes, but Paul wouldn't have turned him away all those months ago, even if they'd been enemies. That was just...it was what Pack did.

That had been three hours ago. Now they were sitting awkwardly on his couch, her small bag of belongings staring mockingly at them from his coffee table. He hadn't offered to carry her bags, knowing it would offend her, but...now that she was there, he was wondering if he had done the right thing by saying yes. Unable to bare the silence any longer – a shocking thing, for the quiet, ill tempered wolf – Paul hopped to his feet. "Stop worrying. I can't imagine Jake's easy to live with, and it's no big deal, you crashing on my couch. Coffee?"

Max blinked, twice, before nodding. "Black."

"Good, I ran out of milk two days ago." He scratched an armpit lazily, and Max had to take a second to wonder if staying with Paul was really any better than Jacob at all. _Men_, she thought, with a disgusted roll of her eyes.

She found out fifteen minutes later that _yes_. Living with Paul was going to be _much_ better than living with Jacob. Boy could make a damn good cup of coffee.

ZZZ

"Come in!" Sue called from her laundry room, shoving the last of Seth's dirty shorts into the washer. She could only faintly hear the knock on the front door, and hoped whoever it was could hear her. She rushed to turn the washer on, wiping her muddy hands on a towel hanging on the back of the door, specifically for such occasions.

"Oh. Emily." Sue breathed when she slipped into her front hall to find her niece standing there. "Is everything alright dear? You don't look well."

The younger woman gave her aunt a slight smile. "I'm just tired. Things aren't so good right now. Can we sit?" She asked, eyes darting to the kitchen doorway. She had spent countless days in the kitchen with Sue, learning how to cook. She had learned her infamous muffin recipe in that kitchen. It was a comforting, soothing place for her to be.

"Of course." Sue replied smoothly, ushering the girl into a comfortable, worn out kitchen chair. "I'll just put on the kettle. Cup of tea does wonders for the nerves."

Emily nodded but remained silent as Sue went about the kitchen, preparing two cups of an herbal tea. She waited until her aunt had finally settled, both of them with a cup in hand, before taking a steadying breath. "I need to speak with you. Honestly."

"Of course." Sue's brow furrowed. "You can tell me anything, Emily." She reached across the table, laid her hand over her nieces. Squeezed lightly. "You know that." She said patiently.

"That's the thing Sue." Emily pulled her hand away, glanced to the side. Her eyes were puffy, red. Whether from tears or a lack of sleep, Sue didn't know. "I don't know if I can." Emily took another deep breath, forcing herself to face her aunt once more. "With...with Collin's death, and everything else that's happened lately, I haven't had a chance to focus on the...smaller details." It wasn't a small detail, not by a long shot. "I never really put it all together until last week." She shook her head. "Sue, when I called you that night to tell you about Sam, it was to _talk_. Not to tattle." She could feel anger rising inside of her, and was quietly grateful for a new emotion, one besides the sadness that had been clouding her for so long now. "I never expected you to turn around and tell Billy or Old Quil. I was talking to you, because you're my _aunt_ and I needed someone to listen."

"Emily, honey." Sue admonished gently. "What Sam did was wrong, I had –"

"What Sam did, Sue...it hurt. I'm not going to say it didn't hurt, that it doesn't still hurt. But I also can't say it wasn't justified, not after what he'd learned. You were going behind my back, disclosing _private_ information. Sue, I thought Jacob had been the one to tell Billy. I didn't know that you had done it." The sadness was back, and she found herself crying even though she'd long thought herself over tears. "God Sue, do you have any idea how much harder that made it?"

"Emily –"

"I'm not finished!" It came out as a shout, not a hiss as she'd intended. She swallowed thickly, tried to compose herself. "I was hurting, but it was _my fault_. For what I'd done to him, and to Leah." Admitting it out loud hurt more than saying it in her head. "He had the right to a few days by himself. He has the right to so much more than that. Now? He's worse than he ever was before." She swiped a hand over her face, brushing away the tears. "He's like a ghost. He sleeps in the guest bedroom, goes through the motions of living with me, but never really feeling it. He can leave, but he won't. He's afraid to." Before Sue could interrupt again, Emily chuckled, low and bitter. "I know that Max broke that order. Everyone knows. Would you like to hear what they don't know? They don't know that the council told Jacob they were going to cut off our funds. Keep Sam running patrols, so much that he can't hold down a job. Without the funding from the council, both of us would have been out of a house. We wouldn't have had food. Sue, you're a _part of that council._"

Sue sighed through her nose. "Emily, we never would have done that. It was just something we said to get Sam to do what was _right_."

"What's right for you isn't always right for us. It's taken me a long, long time, but I'm finally starting to see that." She sipped her tea finally, not surprised to find that it had long since gone cold. "I know he loves me, and I love him. I'm not here to...I didn't come here to rant, not originally." She rubbed her face again, lowered her cup. "Sue, from here on out, what Sam and I do or don't do...that's our business. I'd appreciate it if you could tell _that_ to the council." She knew the entire conversation would be shot to Billy, to Old Quil. She only hoped this didn't blow up in her face. She didn't think neither her nor Sam would be able to handle anything else, not at the moment.

"I'll show myself out. Thank you for the tea." She sighed, standing and putting her cup in the sink. True to her word, she let herself quietly out of the house, hoping that Seth or Leah hadn't been home to hear her explosion. She walked back to a house that was no longer home, heart feeling just a little lighter than it had when she'd set out nearly an hour ago.

"Sam?" She called softy as she walked into their house, shutting the door behind her. She didn't bother locking it. Even before she'd lived with Sam, she'd never been one for locking doors. Now with a wolf living in her midst, she knew there was absolutely no need to lock it. "Are you home?"

"Why were you crying?" His voice was calm, carrying out from the living room. Of course. For someone who complained about the television so much, he sure watched a lot of it when he wasn't patrolling or working.

"I went to talk to Sue." She didn't take his silence as a good thing, and cautiously crept into the living room. "I told her I was angry with her. Well, I told her a lot of things." She lowered herself to the edge of the couch, angling her body so she was facing him. He was watching her from the corner of his eye. Listening, but upset. "It doesn't mean much now, but I never knew she would go to them. I didn't know she had, not until last week when Max was explaining to me about how much...power, she has over all of you." Now _that_ had been an awkward conversation. She didn't know why the Vargamor had been so insistent on telling her how much she could do, but...whatever.

Sam sighed through his nose, tilted his head back. "I don't blame you for what Sue did, Emily. I know you didn't mean it like that." Although it was nice to hear her say it, and a small part of him _was_ angry at her for it. To call Leah's _mother_ to talk about how he had left her...

"I'm not looking for any sympathy here Sam. Calling Sue was...not the best decision, and I should have seen that." She brushed her pants off, standing once more. "I'm going to go to have a nap, but." She paused, nibbled her lower lip. "I know I should be sorry for a lot more than talking to Sue, but I'm not. I...these past few years. I've been happy. It might be selfish, but it's how it is Sam. I won't lie to you and apologize for something I'm not sorry for."

He watched her walk away, to a bedroom that had once been theirs yet was now only hers. Head tilted to the left, he had to agree with Max – vampires weren't the only bad guys in this world. He noticed it hurt more to not feel guilty over his angry thoughts, than it would have to actually feel guilty. Fuck, his head was a mess.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Wil knew, of course, that imprints were sacred amongst what was now _his_ kind. The wolves had all placed the women – why was it only women? – On high, golden pedestals, alongside the members of the poorly chosen council. As a wolf, it was his duty to protect the imprints. Keep them safe. He, like his sons, had been taught first their most important call. _Imprint in danger_.

As of yet, he hadn't had any time with the imprinted women. Or girls, in the difficult case of Nessie, and the too-young Claire. He knew it was because he wasn't a _trusted_ wolf. They didn't think he'd be able to handle it on his own and, so far, he'd only been able to stand Embry and Leah around. Leah who refused without words to imprint-sit, and Embry who was too busy mother-watching to do it.

The children had invited Kim, and as she sat beside him in his truck, nervously staring out the window, he realized she had _chosen_ to come out with _him_. That her wolf, Jared, probably hadn't objected if she were still there. It was common knowledge that Kim and Jared rarely fought, and more often than not, compromised. He felt a small rush of gratitude that his pack mate had entrusted him with his most precious possession.

The rush of gratitude flew out the window along with his good mood when he realized that that was how the Pack saw their imprints. _Possessions_. He knew as well, that he didn't understand the full workings of the imprinted wolf. He hoped he never would.

Marie squealed in the bed of truck as the beach came into view. Wil allowed a grin to slip onto his face, steeling himself as he turned quiet eyes to Kim. "Ready?"

Nervous as the truck pulled to a stop and Marie flung open Kim's door, the imprint laughed. "Wish me luck." She pleaded as she was dragged out by an overly eager little wolf.

Wil whistled and slid out of the truck himself. "You'll need it."

ZZZ

Kim wasn't just nervous – she was terrified. She had younger siblings of course, but she hadn't really spent that much time with the puppy Pack. They had only been thrust upon her and Jared when the Emily fiasco began. Even after that, Wil or Leah watched the children most of the time. Sure; they'd spent time at her and Jared's house but...this was different.

Still, despite her terror, Kim realized she was enjoying herself. Immensely. She was being dragged across the sand by Marie and Sarah as the kids looked for shells and other treasures. "So, Jared and I-"Kim yelped as she was flicked _hard_ in the upper thigh. "Marie!" She gasped, trying to sound scolding.

"Sorry. No talking about Jared today. Today is an imprint free day!" Marie grinned. "Sorry for flicking you. Isaac and Edmund watched a show about it. It's called – what's the word, Ed?"

"Negative reinforcement. You should try positive first though, Marie." Ed said, blandly, as he scooped up a piece of driftwood to examine.

"We'll use the positive when she starts to _catch_ herself talking about him and stops." Sarah offered.

Kim's jaw dropped. "I'm...I'm not a dog, you guys!" Despite feeling annoyed, she recognized that she was also _amused_.

"Nope." Marie chirped, peering up at her. "You're _Kim_."

The emphasis on her name threw her off, but she said nothing more about it. "There's a pretty shell." She nodded in the direction of creamy pink shell, lying broken in the sand. "Do you want that one, too?" She bent to collect the few small rocks she had dropped during the flicking incident, pausing when she felt eyes on her. Peering over her shoulder, Kim shuddered when her eyes met Wil's.

She knew that Wil only unnerved her because he unnerved the other wolves. He didn't...fit in, with the Pack. She had ears, had eyes. Could hear the way they talked about Wil, see plainly that they didn't trust him. _Jared trusts him_, her mind supplied. She watched as Joseph tackled his father from behind. Wil dropped to the sand willingly, even though they all knew a truck wouldn't be able to bowl him over. Yes. Jared trusted Wil. _And not because he's Pack. He's...genuinely a good guy._ She watched him wrestle with his sons and, surprisingly, James as well. As the giant man began to laugh, Kim shook her head and wondered how anyone could think him capable of hurting anyone else.

ZZZ

"Shackin' up with Pauly huh?" Leah asked, baring her teeth in a grin as Max answered the door. "Thank God you don't have our sense of smell, or you'd probably be keeled over by now." She brushed by the other woman calmly, heading straight for the coffee pot. She stomped on Paul's chest as she went, for fun. "Don't lie on the floor if you don't want to be used as a mat." She snipped in response to his angry grunt, and the swat he leveled at her ass.

"I may not have super smelling, but trust me. The smells are getting to me too." Max kicked the front door shut; snagging Leah's cup of coffee out of the she wolfs hands, sipping it. She raised an eyebrow at the flat look Leah gave her, and then groaned. "Mm, coffee. It's so good, Leah. Too bad you'll have to make another pot!"

Max had found living with Paul to be an _interesting_ experience. He gave her her space, rarely talked to her other than to ask her basic things – coffee, eggs, toast? – And after she had moved in, he had become a little cleaner. He was still a twenty some odd year old boy though, and she was used to seeing his boxers forgotten on the bathroom floor, and his playboy tucked into _really, really bad_ hiding spots. The cupboard under the bathroom sink, for example.

She couldn't blame him, really. Nor did she really care. She wasn't his mother; she was just a tenant who wasn't paying rent. He could do what he wanted.

"You're an asshole. Paul, make me coffee." Leah kicked her friends head, grinning down at him.

"Dammit woman, make your own coffee." He grumbled, dragging himself off the floor and dutifully heading to the kitchen "I never should have started being awesome." He sighed. Both women could hear the cockiness dripping from his voice "Now no one leaves me alone anymore. Man, it sure is hard being awesome."

Leah rolled her eyes and took her place on the couch beside Max "I have no idea how you put up with his bullshit every day. You're either _really_ dumb, or a saint. And I know you're not stupid, plus you're basically like, pure evil." Leah's brow furrowed. "You're just high all the time aren't you? Stoner."

Max let out a startled laugh "Yeah, Leah, I'm totally high all the time. You caught me." She shook her head, amused, and allowed herself to relax further into the slightly uncomfortable couch that she used as a bed.

"So...Wil's at the beach. With the kids. And Kim." Leah offered, shooting glances at the other two.

"Whatever, man. Kim's a grown ass woman. If she wants to spend her time pup sitting with the old man, she can do it." Paul slammed Leah's coffee on the table before her, hitching his jeans back up his hips. "I don't see why everyone has their tails bent out of shape. He did what any of us would have done in that situation." He dropped heavily into the seat on Leah's free side, causing the couch to groan and the women to be jostled.

"I think Jake's the only one bent out of shape."

"Yeah well Jake can suck it." Paul offered, slinging a lazy arm around Leah's shoulder. His hand brushed Max and the Vargamor found she didn't particularly mind.

_Damn wolves _she thought fondly, tilting her head back. "You all have a hard time controlling your anger. I've seen how you two especially were when you first shifted...angry, volatile, and ready to explode at the drop of a dime." Max said it calmly, not a hint of judgement in her voice. "Wil has a lot to be angry over, and he wasn't supposed to phase. If he was? It would have happened when all the pups shifted. Where's he ranking now anyway?"

"He bumped Jared, and he's sort of stuck in our struggle." Leah said. "Some days I'm more dominant, or Paul is, or it's Wil."

"That's a little odd, isn't it?" Max turned her head to the two wolves, eyebrow raised. "Shouldn't you both be settling into place?"

"I'm sure you know Jake Alpha'd Seth into Beta by now. When he did that, he fucked up the whole hierarchy. Nothing's normal anymore." Leah thought back to the conversation she had overhead, all those months ago.

Paul tensed the slightest bit. "None of us will find our proper place in the pack until we're allowed to. Right now? We're all going to be bumping each other, it's going to be a pain in the ass, and it's probably going to cause some grief."

"What do you think would happen if I broke the order?"

Paul was quiet for a long minute, before shaking his head. "Don't. Sam, Leah, Wil and I are all...dominant wolves. Seth would drop below us, probably between Embry and Jared, but I can see Sam taking off after Jake for Alpha position. It'd be a bloodbath."

Max shook her head. "Why did you guys even rejoin Jacob's pack anyway, if you all hate him so much?"

Leah turned her head to the side, eyes dark. "They didn't have a choice. I split with Jacob, and was his beta for the time we were apart." Her hands curled into fists. "I was glad to be away from Sam's thoughts. One day we woke up, and we were all in each other's heads again. Jake had just...absorbed everyone into the pack."

"Right. But if you're all so dominant, especially Sam, how come none of you ever pulled back away from his pack? You could have formed a new one, right?"

"Sam tried. Jacob's a pretty strong guy. He has a good hold over us." Was all Paul said. Max waited, but he didn't elaborate.

She could have looked into his mind to see exactly what he was talking about, but...she figured he had lost enough of his privacy, with a pack and a nosy Alpha. She dropped the topic.

Gradually, the wolves on the couch relaxed.

ZZZ

All Quil wanted to do was cross the street. It had started off as simple as that. He supposed though, like the age old Chicken that had attempted this mighty feat, he was merely the butt of someone's joke. He figured that someone was Fate, or Lady Luck, and that whichever lady she was, she was kind of a giant bitch.

Could he heal faster than any normal human? Yeah, sure he could. It didn't mean running his toes over hurt any _less_ though. He stared in pained horror as the car that had crushed his feet – damn old lady car, too, the woman probably hadn't seen him, and oh. His chest had broken off her right side mirror – skidded to a hault and began to back up.

The woman that got out was decidedly not old. In fact, she looked to be about his age. Her hair was tied in a thick braid that hung down to her waist, and her eyes were a muddy brown. She was plain looking. Nothing special, but definitely not an old hag. She was, however, one hundred percent native. If she was here? She was probably Quileute.

She was also chewing bubble gum. Loudly.

"Oh thank _God_. I thought I'd hit a squirrel." She looked relieved as she swiped a hand over her braid, dragging it over her shoulder.

Quil's jaw dropped. "You ran over my _feet_." He squeaked. A _squirrel_? She was more concerned that she'd hit a _squirrel_?

"Well, hey, yeah. Sorry about that." She glanced down at his bare feet, and the tire marks on them. "Looks painful. But at least you're not a squirrel. I mean, if you were a squirrel you'd be a full pancake. Instead of a foot pancake." She slapped her hands together for emphasis, darting her eyes up to his face with a grin. "You okay?"

"I'd be better if you could give me a lift back into the rez." He grimaced, gingerly taking a step forward.

The girl gave him a shocked, disgusted look. "I'm not letting some strange man into my car! Creep." She added, slipping into the old lady vehicle and slamming the door. She rolled down the window, giving him a dirty look. "What do you take me for? A moron?"

Quil's jaw dropped. "But – you ran over my feet."

"Sure I did, buddy. Keep telling yourself that." She shook her head. "Boys these days, say anything to get into a respectable woman's vehicle." She slammed on the gas and tore off down the street, swerving precariously around the corner.

Quil whimpered. He had the feeling that the walk home was going to be long. Long, and, if the events that had just transpired were any indication, confusing.

He hated his life sometimes.

_What the hell am I going to tell Jacob?_ He asked himself as he began to limp back into the woods. _Ugh. I'll just tell him some crazy monkey ran me over._


End file.
